The Sun on his Scales
by MythicDragonRider
Summary: (Mermaid AU) Mathias dreams of leaving the lake. But, he knows that if he's discovered by land-walkers, it will not end well for him, so he stays. When 4 land-walkers move in to a cabin near the lake, he tries to avoid them, but it's hard when his curiousity just won't leave him alone. (Hidden Magic AU) (T for violence) (DenNor and SuFin)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, lovely readers!**

 **This story is an attempted subversion of typical Mermaid AUs by adding a lot of dramatic stakes, tragedy, and themes into the mix! It also explores a more realistic take on what would happen if a mermaid were discovered, even by other people who know of magic.**

 **This story was originally posted on AO3, where there are more chapters at the time of me first uploading this chapter. After this, I'll upload a new chapter every day until I catch up to how many I've already posted on AO3, and then I'll publish at the same time for both websites.**

 **For those of you who don't know, I'm Mythic! This particular story was brainstormed by Pyrrhic and I, and I wrote the thing itself. It's part of an AU called the Hidden Magic AU, set in a world where pretty much every mythology exists and it basically explores the more slow stories in the world, about separate groups of people without exactly the world at stake.  
I've only written one other story in this AU so far, The Late Train to Barcelona, following the Italian twins and Antonio. Yes, it is a 'Human AU', where they're not nations - but they aren't exactly fully human either (mermaids, bunyips, fairies, yokai, etc.)**

 **I hope you guys enjoy!**

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Mathias had no doubt that summer was his favourite season. Winter was too cold, and autumn and spring were too unpredictable. Then there was summer, which was warm, even hot, and was absolutely wonderful considering where he lived. The way the water shined in the sunlight was something immediately pleasing to him, and felt wonderful on his scales and fins. There wasn't much else to do in the lake.  
Even though his parents told him leaving the lake was a choice, he knew they didn't mean it. They'd clearly much prefer him to stay with them, hidden from sight. And so he did.  
It wasn't just that his parents didn't want him to go. It was dangerous in the land-walking world, especially for someone like him. People would find out what he was, and the stories he had been told made him terrified of that outcome. And, if a human, of all things, discovered what he was… Then he would've doomed his whole race, and they'd all live in fear of scientists and poachers.

But, this didn't mean he didn't dream of leaving. It didn't mean there were no endless narratives of being among the land-walkers, told to himself during long days. It didn't mean there was no walking with his land form, growing accustomed to legs and a finless body.  
And, of course, it didn't stop him from watching land-walkers from afar.  
There was a little cottage built on the side of the lake. It had been empty since before he was born, but sometimes people visited for whatever reason. His parents told him it was because they were seeing if they'd like to live there. Though Mathias wouldn't admit to it, he held a slight hope that someone would stay. He knew it was a stupid wish, since if they were humans, they'd probably report him, and if they weren't, they'd probably steal him from his home. Yet, it lingered.

He had a mix of emotions when four people moved in.  
His parents were in absolute panic. This was their only place, this was their only home. If they were found out, they had nowhere to go, and they would probably find themselves in some terrible situation. And Mathias knew this, but he also felt the thrill of change. The thrill of something new, and he was scared because it wasn't a good thing to feel that way.  
If they stayed far away, maybe they wouldn't be noticed until they figured out a way to escape. Their magic couldn't be felt if they were on the other side of the lake.  
But, it also meant they couldn't sense the new people.

Were they magical creatures or humans? And, if they were humans, were they magic-users? Of course, he wouldn't be able to tell the latter immediately, but if he watched them close enough…  
What was he thinking? If he did anything like that, his entire species would be put under risk. He had to learn some self control.  
But he still held a wanting for more.

One morning, he found himself swimming idly in the lake. He wasn't sure what happened, whether he had accidentally drifted too far without thinking, or whether that person had wandered too far… But, he saw them. It was a human.  
Their hair was so blonde it was practically white. This, in addition with their pale skin, made them seem almost pallid, but they still held the warm glow of health. Definitely, the most striking thing about them was their eyes, which were so deeply blue they were almost purple. Were they…? Mathias couldn't tell.  
Wearing warm-looking clothing, the human sat down on the edge of the lake and hugged their legs.

Mathias hadn't been seen. Now, he was hiding behind an outcropping of land in still silence. He couldn't move, he'd be seen, he'd be seen by the human who couldn't use magic… Well, that was his assumption. Otherwise, they'd have noticed him, and they'd have taken him far away, to place were he could be killed and scaled and -  
Never mind, that wasn't important. What was important now was getting away, so he wouldn't doom his whole race. Well, further than it was already ruined.  
But then, the human began to talk to themself.  
Mathias had never heard human speech before. Sometimes, he'd make noises as if he were using it, but he knew that it wasn't what it was really like. And, the sensation was strange. That human did it quietly, and seemingly thoughtlessly. There was something, maybe in the way they said it, or maybe in the sayings themselves, that was just so beautiful. Mathias had never wanted to understand another person more than in that moment.

And he forgot. He forgot that his very existence should stay hidden. He forgot that this was a human, and that he lived in the water while this person was on the land.  
All too quickly, he was seen.  
The human was right in the middle of saying something, but then stopped suddenly. At first, Mathias didn't know why, but then he realised. That human was staring at him, and they saw him, they knew he existed, they knew he was in that lake, he knew that his whole species existed, and… And…  
He wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

With a flip of his tail, he swam away, and felt guilt and dread and regret form in his gut.  
Then, he stayed far, far away from the land-walkers. He didn't tell his parents what had happened, hoping that maybe, somehow, the human would ignore what they had seen.  
As the days passed, there no sudden attacks on him. Nobody in big white uniforms came for him, and no sleep-things were shot into his skin. Mathias began to think he had gotten off lucky, and that the human had thought it was just their mind that made them see him.

Despite the first encounter, he got curious again. He wanted to see the white-haired human, and hear their strange speaking. Sometimes, he dreamt of the beautiful sayings, the language he desperately wanted to understand. Instead, he was stuck with speaking with his hands.  
Though he knew that it was a terrible idea, he found himself getting closer and closer again. Since that human had not known magic, he decided to assume that the rest were the same. After all, his parents had told him how magic-less humans don't know of such things, though they try to speculate. Real facts often found their way into it, but were often replaced by the opposite. And, apparently, they didn't even think of it as real, calling it 'myth' or 'folklore'.  
Mathias enjoyed the concept of being a 'mythical creature'.

Soon, he was practically watching from right near the cottage. They wouldn't know he was there, so it was okay. He did his best hiding, and he was thoroughly enjoying watching this culture. Watching this piece of the walking world, spread out before him for him to assess. And soon, he found himself wanting to inspect one of those strange little devices that they spent lots of time on, or eat that delicious-looking human food. Well, anything would be better than more fish.  
He could only watch the outside of the cottage, where they didn't spend too much time. Sometimes, they'd walk, or eat outside, or just sit and look at strange little things he didn't really understand.  
On occasion, some of them would take out these strange stick-like contraptions. At the end, there was something that looked like water had been compressed into something very very thin, something clear and that reflected things. They'd toss it into the lake and sometimes pull out fish on the end of the water-thing.  
Mathias was confused.

He wanted to get a closer look, and also see if could somehow stop them from stealing his fish. Well, they weren't his fish exactly, but he ate them! Water creatures were his main diet, and they had all that fancy nice-smelling human food he'd kill for a taste of.  
Maybe he could secretly take their stick things from them, or get all the fish away from it. He'd save them! ...Before eating them himself.  
Luckily, the big piece of wood that they sat on to toss in the water-things was easy to hide under if he got there without them seeing. Once he did, he'd wait for them to try to get the fish, and would take them off the water-things.  
The first time he grabbed a fish that it had been attached to, he got to see what it actually was. It wasn't water like how it looked, but it still remained a mystery. But what struck him was that, on the end, there was a sharp, curved object. That's what the fish had been attached to.

Mathias took it out, and let the fish go. He continued this process, and it became clear that the land-walkers were frustrated. The curved objects got bigger and bigger, and soon he made a mistake. As he was idly swimming to keep himself occupied while waiting for the next fish, he felt something painful on his tail. Before he was able to consider what it was, his tail was starting to be tugged on. It started hurting more and more, and he desperately tried to get away, but it only made it hurt further.  
Then he realised. The curved thing had gotten his tail.  
He pulled as hard as he could, and the clear-thing snapped, and the pulling was gone. But, it still hurt, and as he went over to see his tail.  
It was torn, badly. The curved thing was wedged completely in it, and he tried to pull it out, but it just gave him more pain, and he had to stop because now it had touched his hands and his hands were bleeding and now they hurt, too.

Oh no, Mathias shouldn't have left the other side of the lake, he should've listened to his parents, he should've done something that would've stopped this from happening. But he hadn't, because he was too curious for his own liking.  
He heard the humans using their language, but he wasn't charmed by it anymore. Now, it all sounded cruel and sick, and he wasn't the biggest fan of humans now. He should get away before they could hurt him again.  
He got to the edge of the wooden thing, and looked out. There was nothing he could use to hide for a long way. Maybe he should just wait until they weren't looking.  
But, he felt the stinging in his fingers and the pain in his tail, and he just wanted to get away.

Mathias tried to swim out as fast as he could, but now his tail was different and he couldn't do it right and now he was right out in the open for all the humans to see. He felt a sense of panic grip him, and then it took him a moment to realise that someone actually had.  
On his shoulder. Someone was gripping his shoulder. In that moment, he forgot all rational thinking, and he felt like he was going to throw up and his heart was beating way too fast and chills went right up him. And he turned around, because he had to face whatever terrible thing had grabbed him.

He realised how illogical his sudden terror had been, because it was a human.  
Just a…  
Human.  
Mathias felt his stomach drop.  
They certainly didn't look that friendly, different from the one he had seen before, with a practically unreadable neutral expression, except for the piercing blue eyes. They seemed to be looking into his very soul to judge his worth, and he didn't like it one bit. He felt light-headed, because now, he had been discovered. He was scared.

They opened their mouth to speak in that human language. They sounded different than the other one, more like they were bored, more like they didn't care what was happening around them.  
Mathias heard more voices from behind them, and when he looked, he saw more humans. There was the one he had seen that day by the lakeside, along with the other two. One looked quite friendly, but the other looked absolutely terrifying, like they were going to -  
And then the friendly-looking one went up to him, and used their hands to speak in his language.  
They spoke in his language.

'We're not going to hurt you,' they said.  
It wasn't that Mathias didn't trust them. If anything, they were the only person he could trust, especially since they knew his language. But, he was so disoriented and scared that he couldn't comprehend what was happening, that he had been caught, that someone knew his language.  
He wanted to swim away, swim far, far, away, where nobody could see him and he could pretend he hadn't made such a terrible mistake. But, he just floated there, not doing a thing.

The human seemed troubled by his lack of response, and spoke to the one touching Mathias's shoulder. They, slightly hesitantly, removed their hand, and now he could swim away if he wanted. The friendly human looked at him firmly, seemingly trying to establish trust.  
'Can I see your wound?' they asked.  
After a moment of hesitation, he signed back, 'Okay.'  
And he displayed the wound to them.

It was really sickening to see, considering he had never really been injured this way before. He had always been warned to look after his fins, and he was sure his parents would be horrified when he showed them his now-damaged tail. As he thought about his troubles, he heard more human speak but wasn't paying attention. He didn't notice the human with the neutral expression reach out.  
That was, until they yanked out the curved-thing.  
Pain exploded up his tail, and his heart started beating far too quickly, throat choked, and arms trembling. They had just hurt him, beyond all measure, they had said that they wouldn't but they did.  
And Mathias didn't know how to handle that.

So, despite his newly mutilated tail, despite the fact he had been revealed to the humans for sure, he swam. It hurt, and was difficult, but he did it and soon he was on the other side of the lake.  
Only then, as deep regret pooled in his stomach, did he look back.

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 **Critique is greatly appreciated.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, lovely readers!**

 **Thanks for all of you who followed/favourited/reviewed. I appreciate the support!  
Here's a few notes (copy-pasted from AO3) on some of this stuff in this story:**

 **On Mathias feeling pain; though it is not proven that fish have the capacity to feel pain, since he is half-human and has a human mind, he probably can feel it. I'm not sure if there are/would be nerves in the fins, but he's a mermaid. Decisive anatomy isn't really #1 priority. If any of you guys have any advice on how to tackle fictional anatomy, I would greatly appreciate it.**  
 **Also, may I note something? Mathias's language doesn't translate perfectly into English, for mermaids use a type of sign language. Things like 'land-walker' are examples of this. Please excuse anything like this that is confusing.**

 **Okay, got it?**

 **On with the show!**

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The best thing about summer was that the sun shone no matter what. Though sometimes clouds covered it, or night came and there was only the moon's light, the sun still lingered. Whether it was through humid air or bright wildflowers or anything else, there was still warmth. It was different in winter, because there was no trace of any heat and it seemed like the colours had been sapped out of everything.  
So Mathias let the sun warm him as he gathered up all the courage he had. He tried bringing back curiosity and excitement, and something that he never really realised was fuelling him. It was longing, for something, someone, new.

After finding a place where his parents wouldn't look for him, he had fallen asleep, despite an empty belly and the afternoon sky. Now it was morning and he had let his thoughts take him to a new decision.  
Since Mathias had made a mistake, he was definitely going to fix it. One of those humans knew his language and though it was a very weird thing, it gave him an opportunity. He could talk to them! He could convince them not to tell anyone, or not to poach him, or whatever he had to do. And if all went well, maybe, just maybe, they'd let him taste some of that human food. And show him those strange devices. And explain what the weird things they had been using yesterday were.

Thinking of those, he had been wondering about the curved-thing. Mathias realised that, by taking it out of his tail, they had hurt him initially but also stopped him from feeling further pain with it in him. So, they couldn't be all bad, could they?  
He had not doomed his race, not yet. He still had a chance, and if he couldn't make use of it then he really was a terrible person.  
So, he had to be brave for all of this, and tell himself that his thoughts of knowing about the human things, and maybe the humans themselves, were definitely second priority.

As he made his cautious approach towards the cottage once again, he noticed that none of them were outside yet. How would he talk to them if he couldn't even see them? And, if a human did come out, would it be the one with the knowing of his language? He tried to ignore as his plan got more and more holes poked in it, and got closer. For a second, he thought about trying his land-walking form. He got tired when he used it, and the strange 'legs' he had to move were ridiculously difficult to control. They even had been immediately ruled out as a way of escaping by his parents, since apparently they'd get lost and never find water again and die from being too slow to get away from creatures.  
So he stopped considering it, since it was way too inconvenient.

Mathias didn't know how long he waited before a human came out. He immediately perked up, watching intently. It was the terribly scary one, and though he was frightened that they would kill him, they didn't seem to notice him, or care. They went around the cottage and to the stump that he had been there so long that he hadn't seen when it was actually a tree. Then they got out some new object he had never seen before, and the first thing about it that grabbed his attention was the wickedly sharp and heavy-looking end. Then, the human retrieved the pieces of wood that had been laying around (a little smaller than the stump), placed one on said stump, and…

 _Thwack_

The unexpected noise made him instinctively cover his ears. It wasn't like it was deafening, but it was still reasonably loud. The human continued with what Mathias now recognised as bringing the object down on the wood, making the noise every time. He didn't understand why they were doing it. It looked very strenuous, noisy and generally unhelpful. Another thing that he could ask the humans - though, of course, only after he convinced them to keep him a secret. As he watched, he found himself minding the movement less and less, and even got enraptured with the rhythm.  
Mathias tried making a similar motion himself. He did it multiple times, and decided that it was what this was.  
'Chop'. 'Chopping'. He made the motion one more time, and resolved to show his parents the new word when he could.

The human went through many pieces of wood for a time that Mathias didn't measure, then seemed to be ready to stop. They put the object down and picked up the now smaller pieces of wood, taking them inside the cabin.  
He waited for a little while for someone to come out again, preferably the one who knew his language so he could actually talk to them. It wasn't too long when his wishes were granted, though it was the human who had pulled the curved-thing out of his tail rather than the friendly one. He tensed up, still remembering the pain within the moment. But, he knew that was an act of kindness and not of malice, so he tried to brave up. While he had been too scared of the previous human, especially with what they were doing to that wood, he wouldn't fall into the same trap this time.

They sat on a structure near the side of the lake Mathias had seen that them sit on before, and took out an object. He had no idea what it or its purpose was. It was seemingly solid, but then they sort of… ...opened it? And then it had excruciating thin fragments that the human was looking through. Another mystery that must be solved, he decided.  
He began to slowly inch towards where the human was, and if they noticed, they didn't seem to care. Soon, he was basically in front of them, floating and waiting for them to notice. The human ignored him for quite a while, but seemed distracted by him, and finally closed the object and gave him a stern look, as if to say 'what do you want?'.  
Without the friendly human, there couldn't be much conversation here, but he was going to take it as far as he could. Mathias showed them his injured tail and gestured at it.

They seemed surprised, and even slightly guilty, at first. Then their neutral expression took over their face, and they got up and walked away, back into the cabin. Mathias deflated, his chance at communicating with a human ruined. He would never succeed at this rate, and then the humans would tell the whole world about his existence and it'd be a complete death sentence for his race, especially considering the fragile state it was already in.  
As he wallowed in this, something he didn't expect happened.

The neutral one came back out, accompanied by the friendly one. The latter looked concerned, and both walked over to him.  
'Are you feeling okay? Did we hurt you?' they asked, and Mathias felt a wave of relief. He still had a chance to save his race.  
'Will you hurt me more? Will you tell others about me? Don't hurt me, don't hurt my race.'  
He implored them through his language, hoping, begging, they'd take his words to heart and at least not hunt down others like him.  
The friendly human seemed shocked, confused, and guilty, all at once. They used their human words to talk to the neutral one, and turned back to him. After a moment's pause, they replied.  
'We do not want to hurt you. We do not want to hurt your race. We respect that you are people and that you have your lives. Your existence here is safe with us.'

Mathias felt his heart soar. It had worked! His race was safe, his parents were safe, he was safe. The humans weren't monsters, they were kind and forgiving! They forgave him for being in this lake, for messing up and showing himself.  
Then the old hopes came crawling back. They said that they respected him, so would it be too much to ask if… If… They told him of their ways?  
The rational part of him tried to shake this off. He was lucky that his grave mistake hadn't cost lives, and now he was wanting to know about curved-things? What if they changed their minds, and if he became too pushy they would punish him by giving him to other land-walkers.

The friendly human seemed worried that he hadn't replied yet (since he was lost in thought), and hurriedly said something again.  
'We are sorry that we hurt you. It was rude of us to impede on your territory. We can stay away from the lake if you want. We can stay on the land.'  
Mathias's eyes widened, 'No! You are not rude. I am rude for stopping your business in my lake. I should've stayed away from the curved-thing. I am sorry.'  
He nervously looked at the friendly human, hoping that they would not think him rude. The friendly human actually smiled a little, and talked to the other human for a short time, before turning back to him.  
'Though you were not rude in the first place, I forgive you. Now, is there something you ask of us? We impeded on you and hurt you, and you deserve compensation. Is there anything land-walkers could do for you?'

This was his chance. This was his chance to know about them, to understand them, to see the wonders of the land-walking world even in a glimpse. Of course, this could be a trick, or a joke, but why would it be? They would've killed him by now, probably. He just had to take this shot, because he was scared that otherwise… Otherwise, he'd never see the things outside of the lake, in any way.  
Though it was selfish, Mathias couldn't handle that. So he started off with a simple question.  
'Why do you know my language, since you are human?'  
The friendly one laughed a little, and then quickly replied.  
'I once had a friend who knew one of your kind. She taught me your language so we could speak in it to each other, since nobody in the land-walking world knew of it. Also, I suppose I should clarify - I'm not human.'

What? No, this couldn't be possible. The humans and the magical creatures were different! You can sense when a magical creature is near, since that power is part of their being. Their unique aura of their race spelled out what they were to anyone who was listening. Humans, however, weren't things of aura, and you cannot even sense if they were somehow gifted with the use of magic despite their nature. They had to be human, otherwise they couldn't be anything at all! Mathias couldn't feel anything of them, so they had to be so. But, why would they lie when it was so obvious that they weren't a creature?  
The friendly one seemed to notice his confusion, 'Let me explain. You cannot sense my aura because it has been masked. The person beside me is human, but is a very talented magic-user. His abilities can hide aura and allow creatures to go unnoticed.'

All of this was unfathomable to Mathias. He had never heard of humans with powerful magic, it was seemingly impossible. His parents had told him that humans could only use the most basic of magic, and it was a mystery of how they could do so. They were not inherently of this world, they had no aura. But, some could use basic sorcery for reasons unknown.  
But, here was a magic-user human who could mask the inherent base of a magical creature, the thing in them that caused them to use their abilities. He had not even heard of creatures who could do this.  
'How is his gift so powerful?' Mathias asked hurriedly. The friendly not-human looked confused, and conversed with the impossible-human. The impossible-human seemed to point something out to the not-human, who then relaxed.

'Your kind has missed out on a lot since they were driven to this point. Whoever taught you of this world has a few outdated facts. Magic-using humans have been growing stronger and stronger, and my friend is currently one of the strongest known.'  
Mathias felt his pulse race. Outdated facts? How much had his kind missed out on? How many things he thought he knew were wrong? The possibility of things he knew all his life being incorrect was far too much. The chance of everything he knew being factually outdated, so that the world he had built himself was a mere fabrication. He needed some time, any time, to think this over. This conversation was already too much for him, and he had only just started finding out about the truth.  
'Can I come back later? Can we talk later?' he nervously asked.  
The friendly human seemed shocked for a second, hesitating, 'Sure… But-'

And he was swimming away, again. He was a coward, seemingly. Begging, hoping, for truth, and getting away when it became too much for him. Was the only truth he wanted to hear the kind that fit into his version of the universe? No, no, it was just a shock… He could handle all of this, he just needed time, hopefully.  
It was afternoon now, and he hadn't eaten in a full day. He was unbelievably hungry, so he would just go hunt some fish, find his parents, and act like nothing had happened. Which it hadn't, nothing had happened at all.  
He already felt stupid for swimming away, the land-walkers must be looking down on him…

Yet, despite all his negative feelings, Mathias had something else. He had talked to the land-walkers, they had promised they would not hurt him, and there were willing! That was, they were willing to tell him.

All this was overwhelming him, taking over him. He needed to calm down, and think about what had just happened. The land-walkers weren't going to hurt him, nor were they to tell the humans about his existence. Really, it couldn't have gone better. Just a single fact had scared him off, but now he wasn't as scared. Mathias now knew that some things in his life were fake, and he wanted to find out what.

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 **If anyone has criticism, it would be appreciated! Though probably not on the overall plot so far considering I've already written a few chapters after this one.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, lovely readers!**

 **Thanks to anyone who has followed/favourited.  
Reviews are very appreciated.**

 **Mathias learning Danish is a tricky topic (of course, I'm writing in English, but it is Danish he's learning). Since he only speaks in a form of sign language, his inner thoughts are an interesting challenge. It was easy at first because I'm conveying his thoughts via written English, but now it's getting difficult as he learns fragments of spoken language. Basically what I'm doing is that when he learns a spoken word, it replaces the former thought he had about it. For example, when he learns how humans convey the concept of a 'tree' in speak, he now thinks of it that way instead of however he did before. It's weird and complicated but hopefully isn't too confusing.**

 **Enjoy!**

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As the sun rose, Mathias had a thought occur to him that he hadn't considered yet. As many thoughts came, it was unprecedented and not entirely wanted, but he went and had it anyway. Because, now he had talked to the land-walkers and they hadn't been unkind to him. Because, now he had discovered that this magic-user, this human, had the ability to mask someone's aura.  
From what his parents had told him (which he now knew could be partially untrue), the reason why his kind couldn't just join land-walker society was their aura. Though unnoticeable for humans, the aura of his kind was lethally distinct, and all sorts of horrible people would flock to him if he took one step into a city. But, apparently this magic-user could mask aura, so if his was masked…  
There would be nothing stopping him from exploring the land-walking world.

The idea was unbelievably exciting, but also very dangerous. With all those probably malicious people, at least one of them would notice he was what he was, aura or not. Besides, he couldn't just leave his parents behind like that. All his life, they had looked after him and taken care of him, and though they unknowingly said untruths, they didn't mean a thing by it. From what he knew of them, they'd be so lonely without him. Should he give up his freedom, or give up the people he loved? He really wasn't sure.  
His parents didn't suspect a thing. They asked where he was yesterday, and he had told them that he had gotten side-tracked and didn't realise he was far out until he was too tired to go back. This only seemed to make them more tense, and they kept on with their talking of finding a new home. He certainly didn't want one, but he also didn't want to tell them of his interactions with the land-walkers in fear they may prevent him from continuing. Maybe he'd befriend them really, really, well, and his parents would be so impressed about their bonds and feel guilty if they were to cut them. Yes, that was a good idea, considering the position he was in.

While Mathias was still unhappy that things he thought he were true weren't, he wasn't going to swim away this time. He felt really stupid for what had happened yesterday - he had a prime opportunity to communicate and he just wasted it in the end. He hoped the friendly not-human wouldn't think he was stupid.  
As he got closer to the cabin, he noticed that they were all outside this time. At that strange piece of wood that they put their delicious-looking food on. They really seemed to like wood. Was that a land-walker thing?  
Well, it didn't really matter. This time, his eyes were on the food. He never had variety, mostly just a whole bunch of fish, and was desperate to try something else. Maybe, if he asked nicely, they'd give him something…

This thought made him consider what he had been hoping lately. Wasn't he being way too hasty? He barely knew these people, why did he think that they'd give him food and continue to be kind to him and even mask his aura? Constant magic took effort, and it would be exhausting to constantly hold such a spell. Maybe the magic-user was doing it for a close friend, but why would they do it for him?  
Despite reason, the hope still stayed with him, and he was pretty sure that it wouldn't leave until it was disproved or accepted. He would just have to follow the same protocol as the day before - the priority wasn't self-interest but rather to find out what was going on. He needed to know about the world, and how much he thought he knew was wrong.

Mathias floated near the land, and they seemed to be ignoring him, which was fine. They were probably enjoying eating all that food together, talking in that human language. Yet again, he found himself enraptured with it. His perceptions of under the wood-thing were biased considering the situation! It really was beautiful, and he felt himself being taken over by it.  
He wanted to be able to speak it so badly, he really did. He wanted to understand the land-walkers, to be able to talk to them and laugh with them, and… And…  
There he was, with those fantasies again. But, this particular fantasy was unbelievably enticing, more interesting than food and more likely than masked auras, so he was finding it even harder to push away. Maybe he could ask about this one thing.

At one point, all of them seemed to stop eating, but there still was a reasonable amount of food left on the table. Were they not going to eat that? He felt unbelievably envious, and was more set on his goal to get some human food. After all, why would they mind if they didn't want to eat it in the first place? Yes, they surely wouldn't care if he just had little bit.  
They seemed to go into different activities after finishing. The one he had seen first went onto the strange device he had constantly seen all of them use, the scary one and the friendly one started a conversation, and the neutral one took out the same sort of object he had seen yesterday and started going through it.

He was getting a bit impatient, waiting for them to pay attention to him. How long had he been here? Surely long enough for them to notice. Maybe he should do something to get their recognition. Well, it would be really rude and disrespectful, and definitely wouldn't benefit him if he just floated there, too scared to get their attention. He just had to muster up his courage, to be able to -  
And then they left. The friendly one and the scary one walked into the house, still talking, and the emotionless one gave a quick glance to where Mathias was before going inside, too. He felt slightly sick to his stomach, knowing that at least the emotionless one didn't want to be near him. Was he really that annoying? He hadn't taken into account that he might be annoying the land-walkers, and the thought made him uneasy.

The land-walker he had seen first (he wasn't sure if they were human anymore) noticed him after the emotionless one's glance, and they had an expression of somewhat guilt on their face. Mathias didn't know why, and his confusion grew worse as they approached him. What were they going to do? He felt uneasy around them, especially since the friendly one wasn't here, but he reasoned he could always swim away.  
They used their strange human speak. He felt a pang at this, still wanting to understand the words. Surprisingly, they continued for quite a while, and he felt more and more upset at the fact he couldn't understand. All the land-walkers had different ways of saying words, and he definitely found this one's and the emotionless one's the most. He didn't know what it was, but there was something inherently beautiful in the way they said words. He was enchanted once again.

After the one-sided conversation, they stopped, seemingly frustrated. Then, after a minute of silence, they seemed to get an idea and pointed to themself. They said a single word. They repeated it a few times, putting as much emphasis in it as possible, and Mathias had easily memorised it. Then, the land-walker pointed to him. He paused, not really knowing what they were asking him to do. They made a noise of frustration, repeated the action and word again, then gestured back to him. He then realised what they wanted him to do. So, he tried to say the word, to copy the sound that they made.  
The land-walker raised an eyebrow, and then smiled slightly. They said the word one more time, and Mathias followed suit.  
"Emil."  
He hesitantly pointed to them, and said it, but in a way that he tried to make sound questioning. They nodded, pointing to themself, saying it one more time. He understood what they meant, now.  
Emil stood up and tilted their head at him, before going inside the house.

A shuddering thrill went through Mathias as he realised what had just happened. Another land-walker had tried to communicate with him! He felt absolutely overjoyed, and hope for the future took ahold of him. They were willing to teach him human language - at least one of them was. Now he knew their name, and that definitely was a great start.  
But, he felt a bit of disappointment go through him because he hadn't learnt any of the untruths. He didn't really want to stick around, knowing that his entire life shouldn't be waiting by a wooden cabin for someone to come out. He swam away then, thinking about Emil's kindness.

The rest of the day wasn't very interesting. He found himself wishing that he was still there, as he hunted sea creatures and took a leisure swim around the lake. He thought about all the things he could possibly do if he were a land-walker, instead of spending his time bound to a lake. The things he could do if he asked that emotionless human…  
He would have to wait until tomorrow.

When the morning came, he decided to wait until afternoon this time. He was spending his mornings simply waiting, and he wanted to spend the fresh air doing something more interesting. Therefore, he spent his time in The Wreck.  
At the bottom of the lake, there was a wrecked human contraption. He had explored it a million times, looked at all the broken human objects, and even slept in it some days. It would be his home, but his parents didn't like it when he was there, because of something-something about pointy stuff and this thing called 'rust' and weird unknown contraptions. So, it was more like someplace he went when he had nothing better to do. The Wreck was really the only place he had, the only place he could say was his in the lake. It was his personal hideout.

Over the years, he had doodled across the ship. The algae-covered, rusted metal was perfect to create images in. They eventually were covered up again, but it was a hobby that passed the time effectively. That day, he found a sharp object and began to carve into the side of The Wreck. He wasn't thinking about whatever he was creating, just letting his arms take over, and only after he had finished did he realise he had drawn a land-walker. It reminded him of the emotionless one, and it made him uncomfortable. To make it better, he doodled a few fish around them to make them seem less menacing. He stared at it, thinking about the untruths. He should probably get going if he actually wanted to know about them.

Mathias swam up to the surface to look at the sun, and saw that it was already noon. He had spent more time than he had thought at The Wreck, and a part of him wanted to stay there, but he knew that there was a lot to be done, a lot to be asked.  
He went off towards the cabin, but a pang of regret went through him when he saw the emotionless one sitting on the same bench they had been before. They were using the same object that they always seemed to have, but this one was much bigger, and there were more large ones next to them. They seemed to be frustrated by something, and upon seeing him approach them, got even more annoyed. He was hesitant to go up to them now, maybe this wasn't a good time…

But, there wasn't anyone else out, and hopefully if he came up the impossible one would get the friendly one. He might as well give it a shot, they had been kind to him before when freeing him from the curved-thing. But, as he got closer, the person slammed their object down and stood up abruptly. They were staring at him menacingly, and he felt fear course through him as they used their human words in a loud voice. He flinched back - they were angry? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, maybe he should get away before anything -  
The human was clearly frustrated, probably because he couldn't understand their complaints, and they appeared to take a moment to get ahold of themself. After that, they returned to the usual emotionless expression and grabbed the objects, marching back inside the cabin.

He felt terrified after the sudden outburst, and wanted to leave, right then and there. That's what he tried to do, swim away from his bad decision, but it seemed that he wasn't allowed to yet. Someone called out to him, and he turned around to see Emil. They seemed concerned, and motioned for him to come to them. Though Mathias was scared, he was finding himself trusting Emil, after what they had done yesterday. He hesitantly went towards them, and they kneeled down, and said a singular word. He didn't know what it meant, but it seemed to be important somehow. Then Emil got a stick and doodled something in the dirt. He leaned over to see what it was, and it took on the appearance of the emotionless human. Then, they pointed towards the drawing, then the cabin, then back to drawing, and said a new word. They repeated it multiple times, and then motioned to him. Mathias nervously said it, then Emil nodded and pointed back to the doodle, saying it again. He think he understood, it was the human's name.  
"Lukas."

Emil smiled a little and rubbed the drawing away, and said the very first word they had said once again. Then they got up, and with a little motion of their head, they walked alone. He was alone again, but he was feeling a bit better now. Lukas scared him, but he hoped that the confusion between them would go away and they could be friends, just like the language-knowing one and Emil.  
They were his friends now? Yes, they were, he thought. At least in his mind, they had interacted enough to be classified as such. Maybe he just had low standards, as someone who had lived with nobody but his parents his whole life. And they were his parents, and though he loved them dearly, he needed someone, anyone else.  
Mathias just didn't want to be lonely anymore. He was starved of people, starved of places, starved of _life_. He didn't know how he was supposed to live this way now that he actually had the chance to see more.

That evening, he found himself spending more time at The Wreck.

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 **Mathias and Emil's friendship makes me very happy.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, lovely readers!**

 **Thanks for all the faves/follows/reviews. I really am grateful to anyone who pays attention to my work.**

 **Anyway, I have more issues involving Mathias to be brought up. Writing a mermaid is really difficult, so I need to say stuff a lot.**  
 **Idioms. We humans use them a lot, but I don't think Mathias would know what 'curiousity killed the cat' means (though it does apply to what he does quite often). But, this comes back to the whole 'this isn't what he's really thinking, because he uses sign language' thing, how everything is translated into English. So, I've taken some liberties and used some idioms here and there since whatever he's actually thinking is probably some kind of strange mermaid idiom, haha.**  
 **Also - he probably doesn't know much about anatomy. Since he's never taken a biology class in his life, I doubt he knows what a 'heart' is. But, he still uses it in the same weird way we humans sometimes use it. A source of that constant pounding in our chest, and also something related to love.**  
 **Anyway, that paragraph was mostly just to justify my use of 'his heart was in his throat'.**

 **With that out of the way, enjoy!**

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It was raining hard, an occurrence that came all-too-often. There hadn't been recently, and Mathias had hoped it would stay that way, but now he had to be submerged or be pelted with fat raindrops. People wouldn't think the latter bothered him, since he lived in a lake, but he didn't like the sensation of it, and would much rather be surrounded by water. He had been planning to interact with Emil and the other land-walkers again, but he didn't want to wait for them in the rain, and they probably wouldn't come out considering they had a perfectly warm and dry place to stay.  
His mind was still on the events of yesterday, and how he had learnt the names of two of them. Now, he only needed to find out the same about the friendly one and the one that was intimidating, but not as scary as Lukas.

Rainy days came often since the place he lived was cold, and he was unfortunately used to them. At least they were better than winter, when everything was colder than death and he had to deal with the lake freezing over. Nothing could compare to the misery of being properly trapped underwater, seeing the light filtering through the ice and wishing he was anywhere else.  
So, the rain wasn't the worst weather that happened to him, so he just dealt with it and waited for the clouds to part again, which oftentimes took a while. Today, he was exploring the bottom of the lake, an activity that was familiar and comforting. Though he never really found anything new, it was relaxing to swim in all-so-similar surroundings. It instilled within him a sense of serenity, which was much needed after a confusing few days.

But, today Mathias noticed something new. There was something drifting in the water that he didn't recognise, which he couldn't identify. It looked like a spider web, except it was much, much bigger and was blue. The sheer familiarity yet alien-ness reminded him of the curved-thing and what it had been connected to, which disconcerted him. He cautiously drifted towards it, reaching out a hand to touch it.  
It was his focused attention on what was before him that caused his tail to be entangled in the web. When he first noticed this, a current of fear hit him, and he tried to get it out with a quick motion. This only made it worse, and as he continue to struggle, it only got him more and more stuck in the horrible web. It was firm yet flexible, which made it extremely difficult to escape.

He realised that the grapple was making him sink to the bed of the lake, and as he landed in the dirt, he was completely unable to move. He could hear the frantic beating of his heart, and he desperately tried to swallow his fear but it was fruitless, just as it was to struggle against the web. Mathias tried one last jolt of his tail, but it was this that which caused it to be positioned in a much more painful place. The web was pulling harshly on it, and the sensation was absolutely harrowing. He was quaking in fear, and a single thought came to his overwhelmed mind.  
Mathias could die here. The web could snap his body, or he could be tied up and unable to escape and then starve to death, or, or… He could think of a million ways he could be killed by the web, and his fists were closed tightly shut. No, this couldn't be the end, it couldn't, it…

His eyes were drawn to something near where he landed. The very sight sent hope flying through him, and he knew he could survive. Excruciatingly, he inched his tangled body to what he saw, each movement getting him closer. Soon, he was there, and he was able to position his arm for the object to wonderfully, perfectly, fit into his hand.  
The gloriously sharp rock was perfect, and he managed to twist himself around enough so the pointed edge lay against a part of the web. Then, he began to saw at it, desperately trying to cut it so he could be freed. It snapped, the web snapped, and then he knew that it was possible to get out of this alive. With this thought in mind, he tried the same with another part of the web which he could now reach. He managed to cut it, and felt a hopelessly relieved smile come to his face as he continued to free himself. Finally, he had done enough to be able to wriggle out of the horrible web. He hastily pushed it away from him, but it just wouldn't go. It took him a moment to realise that there was still a part of his tail still entangled - the very end. He tried desperately to reach it, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to, a fact he had grown accustomed to in his life.

His heart was in his throat, shaking horribly as he realised there was no way to get this thing off. Sure, he could ask his parents, but then they'd get scared and overprotective and wouldn't let him swim around anymore -  
He needed to calm down, he was okay now. Mathias had mostly freed himself from the web, now he could actually move around and swim. So he had escaped unharmed, he wouldn't starve and his body wouldn't snap and everything would be fine. He felt the shaking die down, but the fear was still prominent in him, and he realised that there was only one place he could turn to so he could be freed of the web. It was the land-walkers, because they wouldn't be able to take away any of his freedoms, and he could somewhat trust them. Well, the friendly one and Emil, the other two still scared him.

It was thoroughly uncomfortable to swim while the web was still entangled with the end of his tail, but he had to deal with it if he wanted to get it off. When he emerged to the surface to see where he was, the rain was still pouring down, and he was still a while away from the cabin. He felt a sense of exhaustion go through him, he couldn't tell what the time was because of the storm, so it could even be night. The time struggling with the web held no time - it could've been a minute or five hours. So, there was very little chance that anyone would come out, in possibly-night as the storm kept raging on. But he wasn't willing to give up yet, he needed to get this thing off. So, he tiredly swam up to the shore and waited as he always did. He knew that if there were magical creatures and magic-users in there, they would be able to sense his aura. They would know he was here, floating there for anyone to come out. But they weren't doing a thing about it - did he deserve that kind of cruelty? Sure, they didn't know his predicament, but something felt inherently cruel about knowing someone is waiting for your presence and you ignore them completely, instead of going out for two seconds to see what was going on.

Maybe things had changed. Maybe auras were different now, maybe they were hard to sense or maybe having your own masked made you unable to feel others. He didn't know, because things were different. Everything had been changed, his entire life had been uprooted. That was what he had wanted, right? He had wanted his boring everything to be more interesting, but now he realised that interesting didn't mean good. These land-walkers could bring him to his doom, couldn't they? Maybe he should've just listened to his parents and put his damn curiosity in a box that he would never open again.  
As these terrible thoughts went through him, he didn't know how to stop them. He didn't know how to convince himself that this change was a good thing, that he shouldn't just go and not let himself be harmed again, in any way. Sure, the friendly one seemed nice, but only because they knew his language. Was there anything about these people that was good?  
Then he remembered Emil, and their kindness. That was enough to pull him out of his thoughts. As long as Emil taught him names, he felt safe.

Mathias felt a bit uncomfortable about the breakdown he had just had. Why was he this weak about change? He thought he had been the sensible one, that his parents were just overreacting. But he was the one panicking about this, not letting reason stand in the way of terror.  
And he was crying, he realised that, now he was crying. He hardly ever cried - as someone who lived underwater, it didn't do much good. But now he was above the surface, and tears were rolling down his cheeks, and he didn't know how to stop them and they were being washed away by the rain.  
It was still raining.  
Now, the shower of cold water felt more like he was cleansed in some way. It was nice, not uncomfortable. Maybe being pelted by water instead of being surrounded by it was better. He didn't know how to feel about the weather anymore.

If he came back tomorrow, maybe the land-walkers would come out. Maybe they would see him and they would come over and take off the horrible web. So, he really should just find somewhere to sleep and come back in the morning, whenever that was.  
But, the exhaustion from the struggle and the following swim was settling into his bones, and he simply felt too tired to find anywhere. He found himself drifting off, right on the shore of the lake, tail still submerged, rain pelting his back.  
He didn't know when morning came, only when he woke up. And, it possibly couldn't even be daytime when he did, because it happened by someone shaking his shoulder. When he managed to open his eyes, he saw the friendly one, looking extremely concerned.  
'Are you okay?' they signed frantically. He blinked lazily, and only realised after a few seconds that they were referring to his tail.  
He only replied with a lackadaisical, 'Can you take it off?'

The friendly one nodded firmly, and it was then he realised that all the land-walkers were there. Emil was looking somewhat scared and concerned, the scary one seemed hesitant and worried, and Lukas…  
Lukas no longer had a neutral expression, and looked unfathomably guilty. After the friendly one seemingly relayed what Mathias had said, Lukas didn't spare a second. They marched up to him and started working on the web. After only about a minute, they managed to slip it off and he was free, his tail was no longer caught in the web. They touched his tail, possibly to see if it was okay? No matter the reason, Mathias didn't like it, and quickly jerked it away, which made Lukas's hand recoil. This was the very most emotion they had shown so far.

Lukas stood up again, and the strange material they wore had gotten wet. But, they didn't seem to care, and quickly turned to the other three, talking to them in that ever-present human language. Their conversation lasted quite a while, and as it happened, Mathias took the time to notice a few things. Firstly, none of them were protecting themselves from the rain, letting it drench them completely. Secondly, they all seemed very worried, none of those strange devices that they had before or other weird objects present, they seemed completely focused on what was happening. Thirdly, they were here. At first, he hadn't grasped the full meaning of that - they were here, they cared about him, they definitely weren't as cruel as his panicked mind thought they were. He felt relief rush through him, and waited for them to finish their talks. They all appeared to agree on something, and the friendly one turned back to Mathias.

'Can you pay attention to me for a bit? I have a lot to say,' they told him, and he indicated that he was okay with that.  
'We came to this place to relax. This, this home… It's here to make us feel at peace. But, obviously, it's not doing the same from you. We've been here for a short time, but already you've been hurt by us multiple times. And you see, what you are is very strange. Your species hasn't been doing well for a while now, and if we're endangering you by being here, then we don't really want to stay. But, while leaving isn't a huge decision for us, it seems to be for you. So, please tell us. Do you want us to stay?'  
The whole outburst shocked Mathias, and it actually made him think for a bit. If they were to go, his parents would be so happy. Plus, he wouldn't have to worry about curved-things or webs anymore, the latter he realised had to have belonged to them. But, if they went, then where would he be? No, he wanted them to be here.  
'Please don't go. I don't want to be alone.'

The response really seemed to shock them, and they hesitantly relayed it to the others. They seemed surprised, too, and their conversation only lasted a little while before the friendly one turned back to him.  
'Okay, we won't go. We're going to try better to keep you from harm, and hope that you don't feel lonely anymore.'  
Mathias felt a rush of happiness go through him, and the friendly one gave him a comforting smile. They talked for a little while longer, then went to depart. Only Emil lingered for a little while longer, and went up to him.  
They repeated a process that was steadily growing familiar to Mathias, and soon he knew. Tino and Berwald, the other two were called Tino and Berwald. The friendly one and the scary one respectively. Finally, he knew them all, he knew the people who had come into his life so suddenly.

Emil gave him that smile, then patted him on the shoulder and left. And because of that, Mathias now knew. He felt certain on what was to come from this new turn in his life.

This was going to be a good thing.

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 **Sorry for not uploading that often, despite the fact all these chapters are already finished.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


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